Gun rights groups have filed a legal challenge to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s ban on openly carrying firearms at or near polling places on Election Day.
The order bans openly carrying firearms where people will vote or where ballots are counted. Benson’s office said she has a legal duty to protect voters and poll workers from intimidation, harassment, and coercion.
Dean Greenblatt is an attorney for the group Michigan Open Carry. He says Benson is acting outside her authority because state law allows people to openly carry firearms.
And he says people should not have to choose between their right to vote and their right to bear arms.
“This order prevents them from voting. That’s disenfranchisement. That’s suppression of vote.”
Michigan Open Carry is asking the Michigan Court of Claims for an accelerated pace of briefs and hearings to resolve the case before Election Day.
